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All University AI Policies

Cornell UniversityAI Policy for Admissions

General Policy:Brainstorming onlyNo disclosure requiredManual review possible
  • PermissionCan you use AI?
    Brainstorming only
  • DisclosureMust you disclose AI use?
    No disclosure required
  • ComplianceHow is it verified?
    Manual review possible
01 What this means for your application

Generally safe

  • Use AI tools to explore and generate initial ideas about what topics or experiences you might want to write about — just don't let the AI take over from there.
  • Ask AI to help you think through what makes you unique or what stories you might want to tell — then put the AI away and write in your own voice.

Things to Avoid

  • Do not use AI-generated images or visuals for any required portfolio component of your application.
  • Do not use AI to create any kind of structural outline or organizational framework for your essays, even a rough one — Cornell explicitly prohibits this.
  • Do not paste an essay you originally wrote in another language into an AI tool to translate it into English for submission.
02 Policy evidence
03 Program-specific policies & specific guidelines

  • Cornell Tech (Master of Engineering)

    P1 • AI use permittedD2 • Must disclose AI useC0 • No compliance stated

    “Cornell Tech does not prohibit the use of generative artificial intelligence; use of any AI tool must be disclosed and properly cited”

    View Source

    Applies to: personal statement, statement of purpose

Allowed Uses

  • researching colleges
  • brainstorming essay topics
  • grammar and spelling review of completed essays

Not Allowed

  • outlining essays
  • drafting essays
  • writing essays
  • translating an essay written in another language
  • creating images for a required portfolio
04 Sources verified

Confidence: HighLast verified: 2026-01-02
05 Policy summary

  • The prohibited-uses list is stated as non-exhaustive, meaning applicants should err on the side of caution for any AI use not clearly covered by the two permitted categories.

  • Notably, outlining is explicitly prohibited alongside drafting and writing, placing Cornell in a more restrictive tier than schools that allow AI-assisted structural planning.

  • Cornell University hub classification: (P3/D0/C1) — use program-specific pages when policies differ within the institution.

06 Additional context

Cornell's undergraduate admissions policy explicitly allows only idea-stage and mechanical support: brainstorming topics and grammar/spelling review. Outlining is explicitly prohibited alongside drafting and writing, making this stricter than typical (P3) (which usually allows outlining). The prohibition list is stated as non-exhaustive. Cornell Tech has a distinctly more permissive program-specific policy (P1) requiring disclosure. Cornell researchers have published studies showing near-perfect accuracy in distinguishing AI-written from human-written admissions essays, supporting soft compliance via reader detection. The graduate school general admissions page has no AI-specific policy. Reclassified from (P2) to (P3): the allowed uses (brainstorming + grammar check) map to idea-stage and mechanical support, not substantive editing assistance.

07 Schools with similar policies

Yale University

Brainstorming onlyNo disclosure requiredManual review possible

University of San Diego

Brainstorming onlyNo disclosure requiredManual review possible

Dartmouth College

Brainstorming onlyNo disclosure requiredManual review possible

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